Why does Svidomi need reader support right now? Column by Anastasiia Bakulina, CEO of the Online media outlet Svidomi
Svidomi is once again facing a financial crisis. That's why you're seeing my appeal to you again. Perhaps my column will irritate you or not convince you, but I will try to explain what is happening.
Our media received its first donor support in March 2022. At that time, donors were directing all their support to Ukrainian media and Ukraine.
In its study of the financial situation of Ukrainian media, the Media Development Foundation noted that in 2022, the amount of aid reached $28.7 billion, making Ukraine the largest recipient of donor air in the world. This lasted for just over a year, however. First, the support focus shifted to regional media close to the front lines, leaving national media in a difficult position. In the second half of 2024, it became clear that donors were showing less initiative in supporting Ukrainian media.
Over the past two months, our fundraiser and I have sent more than 40 letters to donor organisations. Most have gone unanswered, and some have been rebuffed.
In a conversation with a donor, I talked about the importance of institutional support for the media. The response was that donors hoped that the media in Ukraine would begin to stand on their own.
But is that possible in today's conditions? The answer is no.
Let's look at how the media generally works in Ukraine. Spoiler: no, not oligarchs' money (at least most of it). Funding for media can come from donor support (usually covering 50% to 90% of the budget), commercial partnerships and reader support. Commercial partnerships have decreased significantly due to business financial constraints. As a result, most media have focused on donor and reader support.
In reality, gaining reader support is a long journey that all media in Ukraine are still making. While there are many examples around the world of media that exist solely on reader donations, Ukraine has not yet reached that stage. This is a normal trend, as we are only now learning to pay for the opportunity to watch films and series. It is a normal trend, but unfortunately, very untimely. Svidomi and other media in Ukraine are now dependent on the financial support of readers.
I often appeal to the entire media sphere in this text, not just Svidomi. Our campaign is dedicated to supporting the media and showing the real picture of the Ukrainian media. I do not want independent media to be shut down at a time when information security is one of the key areas in this war.
Coming back to Svidomi, let me tell you about our financial history. As I mentioned, we received our first grant in March 2022. At that time, we had already existed for three years, but we were still working on a voluntary basis.
Why did this happen? Because our story is not typical. When I started Svidomi, I didn't want to create a media outlet. I created a space for my friends to understand the news better. This transformation from a simple blog to a major media outlet has been ongoing and continues to this day. Although we are six years old, we are still very young in our role. We are destined to build media in these extremely turbulent times. This also affects our ability to get grants. As our grant history is rather short, most donors are meeting us for the first time and are still deciding whether to trust us.
But I know that this text is being read by someone who remembers Svidomi as a small blog with a very rough design. Or someone who remembers our coverage of the Sternenko and Sheremet cases. And this text will be read by someone who joined us at the very peak of the chaos — in February 2022.
And all of you are still with us. We want to stay with you to help you understand these complex stories, understand events better and deeper, develop new platforms, and create new products. Your support could be decisive for the future of Svidomi. Because we are running out of time.
